Two Reasons Why I’ll Never Keep Quiet

On Sunday evening immediately after we’d had the good news that missing dog Schnapps was reunited with her family, I received a message and photograph that dissolved my euphoria in seconds. My friend Janet, manager of the Diana Brimblecombe Animal Rescue Centre had taken into her care two traumatised, wounded dogs with shocking physical problems. Both had been rescued from a puppy farm, and as I quizzed her for details on the dogs, she asked me how strong my stomach was before sending me any photographs. I’m quite weedy when it comes to gory images, but with a gulp, I steeled myself before opening the file.

On the screen was a miniature schnauzer with a gaping, deep, badly infected hole in her throat about the size of a golfball. Shutting my eyes I choked back tears – I was still flustered from Schnapps’ misadventure but now the tears came from a boiling cauldron of high emotion: anger, sadness, empathy, blind rage at the cruelty that led to this poor dog suffering in this way. To have a wound that deep and infected meant she’d been neglected for a long time.

As I calmed myself down, I opened my eyes again and looked once more at the message Janet had sent me. Along with this little dog, she was looking after a male dog rescued at the same time. He has a large lump on his back leg, again so obvious that to neglect to seek treatment shows the mindless greed and cruelty of the puppy farmer responsible. When you read or hear people describe puppy farming as the production of puppies with little or no care for the health and welfare of the dogs, remember these two dogs. Living examples of what that phrase really means.

I won’t share the most graphic images here as they’re truly upsetting. But Lacey and Merlin as we’ve called them, deserve to have their story told, their suffering heard. Although I can try with my words to describe what they’ve experienced, I think a photograph of Lacey’s cleaned up wound at her veterinary visit is worth me putting here.

Lacey’s large, deep infected and very painful wound. To be this size, it’s been left untreated for a long time.

When the vet operated on Lacey she followed a long sinus, Xrayed for a foreign body and after a lot of debridement stitched the wound and left in a drain. Lacey will stay hospital until the drain is removed so her bandages can be replaced and changed as needed. All this could almost certainly have been avoided if she’d received care and treatment earlier, but that would have cost the puppy farmer money and eaten into the profits made from selling her puppies. This is the vicious reality of the breeding industry. And it’s rescues like DBARC where its victims like Lacey and Merlin find help, love and care. It’s not the breeding industry that helps them, it’s rescues, relying on donations and the kindness of supporters. It’s why I will never stop speaking out against this industry and all who participate in it.

DBARC are awaiting results from Merlin’s biopsy, but here he is, the photo doesn’t show the full extent of the lump, which is enormous.

Merlin

Merlin’s 1st lump on his leg, DBARC are awaiting biospy results

Second huge tumour, size of a human fist

Both Lacey and Merlin are the sweetest characters. And despite the fact they’ve obviously known nothing but cruel neglect in their lives, they’re showing the DBARC team just how much they want to get on and enjoy their new lives in safety. But before they can do this, there’s an unknown amount of veterinary care that both will need before DBARC will begin looking for their new homes. As well as their injuries and lumps, both need neutering and dental work done.

In order to help towards what are likely to be hefty veterinary expenses, I’ve decided to ask DBARC to use any money that’s donated this month to Susie-Belle’s Memorial Fund for the care of these two dogs. Lacey and Merlin represent exactly what Susie-Belle did and continues to do. The puppy industry harmed her for years, and it’s continuing to harm dogs daily in their hundreds of thousands. It’s why I will never stop writing and campaigning against this industry. It’s why I will always support good rescues like DBARC that are faced with dealing with the results of this horrible business. Just as Susie-Belle’s life mattered, so do these two dogs, and all the others like them that we will never see, or know about. Those who will die in the places they’re born.

Please, if you can make any donation to Susie-Belle’s Memorial Fund, however small, please make one today. Lacey and Merlin need us all to do what we can to stop this suffering and to help those who get saved.